Clow and Ki
by Jumper Prime
Summary: DBZ/CCS crossover. When Cell announces The Cell Games to the world, Sakura Avalon is watching and vows to use the powers of her magical cards to save the world, not knowing of others who might have the power to do the same. Formatting errors fixed
1. Warning of Doom

Clow and Ki

Written by: Jumper Prime

Disclaimer: I don't own Dragonball Z, Card Captor Sakura, or any of the characters therein. I have combined the 2 series according to my own vision. This I have done for my own enjoyment and the enjoyment of others. I am receiving no money for this, so please don't sue me(I haven't got much to be sued for, anyway)

Alright, this is a crossover between Dragonball Z and Card Captor Sakura. For purposes of this fic, both series occur in the same universe on the same planet. For the Card Captor Sakura part, it has been about 3 years since the final episode of the TV series, where Sakura finished transforming the Clow Cards into the Sakura Cards(why Nelvana called them Star cards, I dunno) and since she did that, Sakura has been using the cards and her own innate magic to fight demons. Just think of the old saying "With great power comes great responsibility." What? You don't think Clow Reed made the cards for fun, do you? When in Dragonball Z this fic occurs will become obvious rather quickly. Oh, by the way, in this fic, the whole world uses the calendar used in DBZ, so Sakura finished transforming all the Clow Cards into Sakura cards near the end of 764 A.D.

Chapter 1: Warning of Doom

May 16, 767 A.D.

15 year old Sakura Avalon wrote a few more lines in her notebook and then closed it, leaning back in her chair, giving a satisfied sigh.

"Finished all your homework for the vacation, already?" a voice asked. The owner of the voice looked like a yellow stuffed animal with wings and a tail, but was actually Keroberos, the Guardian Beast of the Seal, often called Kero by his friends

"Yes, I have." Sakura answered

"You sure you're feeling OK?" Kero asked as he floated over with a thermometer "You usually do all your vacation homework on the last day before you go back to school."

"Kero!" Sakura responded in an indignant tone "I haven't done that for a long time."

"Try the last vacation you had. BUT, since this time you got it all done midway through vacation, I'd say you're maturing."

"Why thank you, Keroberos." Sakura grinned as she stood up and worked some kinks out of her back from sitting so long.

Sakura took a step towards her bed but then suddenly stopped dead and grabbed her head as she screamed. As Sakura screamed, Kero's eyes widened. Sakura screamed for a full 30 seconds before she ran out of breath and started panting.

"Sakura? Sakura!" Tori's voice shouted from the other side of the door as he pounded on it "Sakura! Are you alright!"

"I... I..." Sakura gasped "I'm... fine..."

"Open the door and tell me that."

Sakura shakily got to her feet, she had fallen to her knees during her scream, and walked to the door, slowly opening it wide so Tori could see no one was threatening her. Tori gently pushed Sakura aside and quickly checked the room. He looked under the bed and in the closet, his eyes lingered on the stuffed animal on his sister's bed a bit longer than any of the other items in the room.

"Was there someone in here?" he asked at length

"No, Tori." Sakura sighed "No one else was in here. It was just me."

"Then why'd you scream? Did you see yourself in the mirror?"

"Grrrr!" Sakura growled and grabbed a pillow from her bed, throwing it at her brother "Out! Out of my room now!"

Sakura angrily pushed her older brother out of her room and slammed the door shut, then listened to his receding footsteps until he was far enough away. The Mistress of the Cards then turned to Kero.

"Kero, what was that?" she asked

"I think you already know." Kero answered in a serious tone

"Evil..." Sakura whispered "Pure evil. Like nothing I've ever felt before."

"Yes. I've never felt anything like it either, and I've been aware of the mystical world around me since Clow Reed created me, centuries ago."

"It's got more raw power than anything I've ever felt. What if I'm not powerful enough to beat it?"

"Your magical powers are stronger than ever, Sakura. Plus, you've got the Cards on your side. Heck, this thing might just be an amorphous blob of dark energy you can easily trap with the Shadow Card."

"Or it might be something else."

"Hey, raw power isn't everything. It's how you use it that counts, and you're very skilled with your magic now. As we felt it, that evil force was getting a major influx of energy. It'll probably take it time to learn how to handle all of it."

"Then I guess I'd better divine exactly what and where this thing is before it does."

As Kero nodded in agreement, Sakura walked back to her desk and opened up a drawer, removing an ornate bound book with her name on the cover. She opened the book and took out the deck of cards that was inside. Sitting down in her chair, Sakura shuffled the cards and laid several cards face down in a set pattern while her eyes were closed in concentration.

"OK, first we find out what this thing is." Kero instructed

"I know Kero." Sakura sighed as she opened her eyes "You taught me this years ago."

"Sorry. Sometimes I forget just how much magical knowledge you've assimilated. I guess, to me, you'll always be that schoolgirl who didn't know a thing about magic until I made her a Cardcaptor."

"Cards of Sakura hear my plea, show the vision now to me." Sakura intoned and the cards in the pattern glowed with pink light. She then turned over the three cards at the top of the pattern, reading off their names as she turned them "Hmm. Dark, no surprise there, Change, and Erase."

"An evil shapeshifter that lives to destroy." Sakura nodded at Kero's interpretation and, one by one, turned over the five cards at the bottom of the pattern that indicated the target's abilities.

"Power, Fight, Fly, Shot, Shield." Sakura said the names of the cards as she turned them over

"Definitely powerful. Lots of abilities. Good news is, it's a generalist, so it won't be indomitable at any one ability."

"But all of them combined could be dangerous." Sakura noted as she turned over the two cards in the middle that would tell the creature's location. "Mirror and Illusion? Those two have never come up in this part of the pattern before."

"I'm stumped too. You might want to be careful around mirrors for a while, though. Just in case it's hiding in one."

"I guess if I see a reflection that doesn't match what's in front of the mirror, I might've found it."

"Could be. Better keep the cards with you, just to be on the safe side."

"Yeah, if this thing lives in a mirror, it's probably able to pull people inside them."

"Not the sorta place you wanna be without your most powerful magic, that's for sure."

Sakura nodded as she gathered up the cards and put them all in her pocket. She then reached into her shirt to touch the small key that hung around her neck, reassuring herself that the staff she used to command the Sakura Cards was close at hand. She went downstairs and started on her chores. A few hours later, Sakura was carrying a basket of clean laundry through the living room when the basket fell from suddenly limp fingers and she grabbed her head, her mouth open in a silent scream. The evil force she had felt before was fluxing again. By the time it stopped growing, it was twice as powerful as it had been the first time she had sensed it.

"Sakura? Are you alright?" Sakura's father asked as he rushed over to her

"Y-yeah dad." Sakura said with little conviction as he helped her back to her feet, she had fallen again when she felt the evil force

"Are you sure? It looked like you were in some serious pain."

"I'm fine Dad. It was... just a headache."

"Looked like a really bad one. Maybe I should take you to see a doctor. A sudden, intense headache like that could indicate something seriously wrong with you."

"I'm fine dad. Please, believe me."

"Alright." Sakura's father sighed "But if it happens again, I am going to drag you to the doctor, kicking and screaming if necessary."

Sakura and her father gathered up the spilled laundry, which Sakura quickly put away and then she rushed upstairs.

"Kero, did you feel it?" she asked as she entered her room

"I think every magically sensitive person in the world felt it."

"Kero! Its power doubled in just a minute or two!"

"So it's gonna have even more adjustment time to go through."

"What's to stop it from doubling its power again and again? What if it doesn't need to adjust? What if it can access all that power right now? And even if you're right, how am I supposed to find it? It could be in any mirror, or even a window, and that might not even be what the cards were trying to tell me! I don't even know if I have a chance against it!" Sakura was close to hyperventilating now

"Sakura! Calm down before you give yourself a heart attack! Or before you make all your stuff fly off the shelves."

Indeed, Sakura was in such an agitated state that the objects in her room were vibrating, a result of her magical powers not being as contained as they should be. At her mentor's warning, she took several deep breaths and the objects in her room ceased their vibration.

"Thanks Kero." Sakura said at length "It would've taken forever to clean everything up."

"Aw, that's what I'm here for." Kero responded in a dismissive tone

The rest of the day passed without incident. For the rest of the day, Sakura scrutinized every reflective surface she passed but didn't see or feel anything unusual from any of them. She slept fitfully that night, her dreams depicting a man with spiky blond hair fighting a creature that bore a striking resemblance to a man in green and black armor, but was actually not human at all, the armor actually an organic part of his body and his skin and eye colors were obviously not human at all. The battle itself was a spectacle with both combatants flying through the air and firing energy blasts at each other, as well as fighting hand-to-hand in mid-air.

Sakura awoke with a gasp, wondering if her dream might have been a vision of the future. It had been a very lucid dream, as her prophetic dreams always were, but in all her previous visions, she had been in the dream somewhere. This time, she had not seen herself. At her father's call, Sakura went downstairs to have breakfast. She picked at her food, not having much of an appetite, causing her father to ask if anything was wrong. Sakura lied and said nothing was wrong. A few hours later, Sakura was sweeping the front room while her father and brother were watching the television, which was tuned to WHN where the news was just coming on.

"And now it's time for the International News." the anchorman announced

Before he could continue, there was a crash as half the desk he was sitting at shattered. The anchorman let out a yelp as the green and black being from Sakura's dream rose into frame. Sakura's broom dropped from limp fingers as she saw what was happening on the television. Her father and brother were similarly dumbfounded, but for different reasons.

"Hey! What's the idea!" the anchorman demanded right before the newcomer grabbed him by the neck and lifted him up.

"You, tell me, is this Studio B?" the inhuman man asked. The anchorman couldn't get enough air to answer, so he was dropped to the floor

"Of course it is!" the anchorman turned to yell to the camera crew "Call Security! Hurry!"

The question-asker flicked his fingers at the anchorman, sending a small ball of red light at him. When it hit, the ball exploded like a miniature grenade, killing the anchorman. The cold-blooded killer then turned to face the camera again.

"I am Cell." he announced "I have a message for all the people of Earth. Now pay attention to what I say." the picture shook as Cell spoke, indicating the fear felt by the cameraman "Your boring lives are about to get a lot more interesting, thanks to me. I have enjoyed terrorizing Earth, but now I have something far more entertaining planned for this pathetic planet. For those of you who don't remember me, take a close look at my face." Cell's next sentence was delivered in a less human-sounding voice. "_The big monster of Nicky Town?_" Cell then continued in his normal voice "I am the evolved form of that creature and I owe it all to this worthless planet for providing me with the bio-extract I needed. But the reason I'm here is to announce my decision to hold a martial arts tournament. I'm calling this competition 'The Cell Games.' It's a catchy little title, don't you think? The Cell Games will be held nine days from today at Area S, Point 5, 28 miles northeast of Eastern City. There you'll find an arena that I have designed myself. I modeled it after the one used in the original World's Martial Arts Tournament. I believe it is the ideal location to crush my competitors. Bring me your best fighters and I will face them one by one in a contest of strength. This is the last chance for planet Earth. If I am not defeated, it belongs to me!" Cell chuckled "My competitors will have the advantage since I won't be able to rest between matches and my new opponents can enter the competition immediately. The rules will be the same as The World's Martial Arts Tournament: If you give up or your body touches the outside of the ring, you lose. And, though I will try to avoid this, if you die, you will of course be disqualified.

"I hope I haven't frightened any of you from playing The Cell Game. Now that you know where the competition will be held, all you have to do is find the courage to show up." Cell laughed heartily, then continued talking "Now watch this, here's just a little taste of what you'll be up against!" Cell pointed his right arm behind him and fired a beam of energy from his open palm, blasting a hole in the wall and demolishing the cityscape on the other side, as well as destroying the mountain in the background. "Come and get me, if you dare. Now, let the games begin. The tournament starts in nine days, good luck!" Cell laughed as he flew out the hole he had made in the wall.

The television broadcast then switched to a commentator who started to talk about Cell's announcement. While her father and brother were glued to the television, Sakura was racing up the stairs. She burst into her room, where Kero was watching a cartoon on Sakura's television and eating a piece of cake.

"Kero!" she yelled, causing the diminutive Guardian Beast to yelp and fall off her bed "Don't tell me you didn't see it!"

"Didn't see what?" Kero asked as he floated up to Sakura's eye-level

"Cell's broadcast!"

"Who's Cell?"

"He's what we sensed earlier!"

"How do you know?"

"He was on the TV news! When it's turned off, you can usually see your reflection in a TV tube-"

"And when it's turned on, it shows artificially generated pictures. Illusions!"

"Right! That's what the cards were trying to tell me."

"So, what'd he say? And what's he look like?"

"He's holding a martial arts tournament in nine days called 'The Cell Games.'"

"That's it? You sure it wasn't just a commercial?"

"Kero! He wasn't human! He was definitely a demon. He killed an anchorman on camera with a blast of magic, after smashing up through the floor. Then, when he finished his announcement, he blew a hole in the wall behind him, and the same blast demolished the city AND blew up a mountain in the background!"

"All that with one blast? This guy's a real showoff. Something you can use against him."

"Kero, he smashed up a city with ONE shot!"

"You could too, if you wanted to, for some unknown reason. Remember, the Earth Card might've destroyed Readington if you hadn't been able to capture it, and if you hadn't been able to control the Firey Card correctly when you used it to melt the snow that another card had covered the city with, it would've burned the whole place down. All four elements combined and sent out to destroy... There wouldn't be anything left of Readington, or even a city the size of West Capital City. The cards are very powerful, and they draw their power from YOUR star."

Sakura nodded mechanically, in shock over the revelation that she had the power to destroy a city, and changed the channel on her TV from the cartoon Kero had been watching to the news. The story of the day was, of course, about Cell. The story included a replay of Cell's earlier speech and information on what had happened in Nicky Town, as well as the disappearances in Ginger City and other places.

"OK," Kero said at length "Cell's obviously a fighter-type demon. Wants to get his kicks and prove his invincibility by beating up on some poor shmucks who don't stand a chance against him. If nobody shows up, it proves to him that the entire world is too scared of his power to fight him. But what he doesn't realize is that there's someone powerful enough to take him down: You."

"At least now we know-" Sakura was interrupted by the ringing of her cellphone, which she picked up and answered "Hello?"

"Sakura!" Madison's voice came over the phone "Did you see it?"

"You mean Cell's broadcast? Yeah."

"I assume you're planning to take on Cell?"

"Well... Yeah."

"Cool! I'd better start designing your battle costume, then."

"Madison..." Sakura sweatdropped "The most powerful demon I've ever felt and you're talking about a new battle costume?"

"What? If it's the most powerful demon you'll have ever fought, it's more important than ever to look the part with a cool battle costume."

"Alright, alright. Just one thing. I want this battle costume different from all the rest. I want this one designed to hide my identity."

"What! Why would you want to cover up that beautiful face of yours?"

"Because there'll probably be a bunch of reporters at The Cell Games."

"And your point is?"

"Grrrr. Madison, if my face is caught on camera, everyone in the world will know I have magical powers. I'll never be able to live a normal life after that."

"Hmmm. You do have a point. And there are a few relevant design options I've never used in any of your previous battle costumes. It'll be good to try one or two out. OK, one secret identity-hiding battle costume, coming up! Gotta go! My design table awaits!"

Madison hung up, and then Sakura did. She then pressed a speed dial button.

"Who ya calling now?" Kero asked but received no response as the phone rang before someone picked up

"Hello, Li?" Sakura said "It's me, Sakura. Did you see-? Yeah, figured you would. I'll bet you felt his power yesterday. I'm thinking we need to do some research. Your family's got a real comprehensive library of the supernatural, I'm gonna call Eli to have him check his, and I'm gonna look through the books in Dad's library downstairs to see if there might be anything usable there, like that mythology book that got me the secret to trapping that really weird demon last year. Between all of us, we should be able to find something on exactly what kind of demon Cell is and what his weaknesses are. Thanks Li, I knew I could count on you." Sakura hung up the phone and pushed another speed dial button.

"Good to see your brain hasn't shut down from the pressure on ya." Kero praised "Most demons have some sorta weak point that can be exploited, as you know. With three separate researches running simultaneously, we're sure to find something useful."

Two days later, Sakura and Kero were still searching through her father's library, no closer to finding information on what kind of demon Cell could be, when Tori called to her from the top of the stairs.

"Yo! Sakura!" he yelled "Get up here! The Royal Army's about to take out Cell!"

"Oh no." Sakura whispered

"They won't stand a chance." Kero grimaced

Kero hopped into Sakura's pocket and she ran upstairs and gazed at the TV, which showed the Royal Army advancing on Cell, who was standing in the middle of the ring he planned to hold The Cell Games in, while a correspondent narrated what was happening. As the Royal Army surrounded the ring, Cell jumped into the air, flying away.

"Is he running?" Sakura wondered

"No," Tori said as Cell immediately touched down on a nearby mesa "It looks like he just doesn't want his fighting ring to get trashed."

Both siblings watched as the Royal Army surrounded the mesa and started firing. The explosions quickly enshrouding Cell in an opaque cloud of dust. The bombardment went on for several minutes, the human forces expending enough firepower to destroy a small city before they finally stopped. The mesa collapsed in on itself, throwing up even more of a dust cloud than the bombardment had. Both Tori and the TV correspondent were shocked as the dust cloud cleared to reveal Cell standing in mid-air at the height the destroyed mesa used to be. Sakura and Kero were not surprised, of course, knowing from Sakura's divination that Cell had powers similar to the Shield card. As the Royal Army started to run away, Cell raised his hand, which began to glow with yellow energy.

"No..." Sakura whispered "They're no threat to you. Don't kill them..."

Cell had no way of hearing Sakura's words, and wouldn't have obeyed her even if he had. He swung his arm in a circle and a circular blast of destruction started to engulf the Royal Army all around him. The blast had traveled about halfway around the circle that the Royal Army had formed before the picture suddenly dissolved into snow, the camera crew apparently caught in the blast as well. A few seconds later, an anchorman came on from the studio.

"Umm," he began "We seem to have lost contact with our correspondent covering the attack on Cell. We're trying to reestablish communications but, based on the last images we received, we do not expect much success."

Tori turned off the TV with a sigh.

"Man," Tori grimaced "He took everything they dished out, then swatted them all with one shot... How does he expect anyone to be able to fight him at all."

"Maybe he doesn't." Sakura said softly

"Sakura, you're not planning to do something crazy, are you?"

"Crazy? Like what? You think I'd do something crazy like fight Cell?"

"Well, in those Godzilla and Gamera movies, the monster always saves the day..." Tori teased

"Grrrrr!" Sakura growled and hit her brother with a pillow "I'll show you a monster!" A pillow war quickly erupted and stopped just as quickly

"But seriously, I don't want you to even daydream about fighting Cell. The day before he made his announcement..."

"The day before Cell made his announcement... What?"

"Nothing. Just, exactly seven days from today, I don't want you anywhere near that ring where The Cell Games are gonna happen. I don't want you even as close to it as Eastern City. You got that!"

"Geez, Tori!" Sakura sweated "What would I be doing so far from home? I'm not even into martial arts."

"I dunno, maybe one of your friends might dare you to watch the Cell Games in person. But if they do, you tell them flat out NO! Understand?"

"Alright! Alright! I promise that if one of my friends dares me to go watch The Cell Games in person, I'll turn em down!"

"I guess that'll have to do. Please Sakura, listen to me for once."

Tori got up and walked upstairs, glancing back at Sakura for a moment.

"Whew!" Kero wiped his brow as Sakura did the same "For years, I've worried that guy was on to me, and to your powers. The way he talked, it was like he knew you were planning to take on Cell. But how could he know that?"

"I don't know, but I'm lucky I was able to dodge him like that."

"You shouldn't make a promise you know you won't keep, ya know. Even if it is in the interests of secrecy."

"I didn't lie, Kero. I said I wouldn't go to WATCH if a friend DARED me to. I'm not going to watch, I'm going to fight, and no one dared me to do it, I already knew I had to, because I'm the only one who can."

"Yeah... You're right. You HAVE gotten smarter since you first set the Clow Cards loose."

"Not like I coulda gotten any dumber, scattering them to the four winds the way I did."

"Yeah, I gotta admit, triggering Windy the way you did that fateful day sure was a boneheaded thing to do, but I can't help but wonder if the hand of Clow was involved that day."

"What can I say? Before that day, I didn't think saying a single word would produce any sort of magical wind. Boy, did my world get turned upside down."

"More like right side up. You always had your magical powers, you just didn't know about them until you opened the Seal on the Clow Cards."

"Well, we've rested enough, let's get back to the research or else, in seven days, there might not be any point to going to fight Cell."

Sakura and Kero went back downstairs to resume their search for the secret to stopping Cell, a secret they had no way of knowing didn't exist because Cell was a creature of twisted science, rather than magic. Meanwhile, Tori lay down on his bed, staring at the ceiling.

"Mom, why were you so vague?" he wondered aloud "The day before Cell popped up, you appear and tell me that, in exactly ten days, Sakura would be in major danger from a creature of pure evil. Then Cell shows up on TV. I know Sakura's even less normal than me. I can see ghosts, but Sakura... Seems like every time something weird goes on, she's nearby, usually with her friend Madison, often wearing some sort of fancy costume. That spirit that impersonated her twice, years ago. Why did it?

"The first time, it seemed to want me to get hurt, for some reason. Or maybe it wanted to hurt Sakura, doing pranks while looking like her. The second time, it took her place when she was supposed to be sick in bed. I never did find out where Sakura went that night, in such bad weather. It's like she bent that spirit to her will, or helped it do what it needed to do so it did her a favor when she needed to sneak out. Could she be planning something like that with Cell? No way. A simple spirit that takes Sakura's form is one thing, but a real monster like Cell? No, she'd have to be insane... unless she's really powerful. Or maybe that stuffed animal of hers is. Whenever I'm near it, I can sense a life force from it, just like a person's.

"Maybe I should just tie her up that day, so she can't get into any danger? Yeah! I'll tie her to her bed early in the morning, bring some food up to her room and feed her at mealtimes, then untie her once the sun goes down. Then she'll be perfectly safe, all day."

No Tori. You shouldn't. Tori suddenly heard an ethereal voice, a very familiar one

"Mom!" Tori gasped as he sat up quickly to see the ghost of his mother standing in front of him

You can't stop her.

"Can't stop her from doing what? You said she might get killed."

Might. Not will. The future is constantly in motion. Always shifting. Even Sakura's clearest visions are subject to shifts. In the year leading up to the completion of her first Quest, Sakura had a series of progressive dreams, each one showing her more of a certain night, when she would be tested. As they became more and more clear, the shadowy figure seemed to resolve into her teacher, Layla Mackenzie. But on the night she was dreaming of, her tester was not Layla Mackenzie, but Yue.

"Who's Yue?"

That does not matter. What does matter, is that your sister is one of the few people in the world who might have a true chance of defeating Cell and saving the world.

"No way..."

Yes. Your sister has great power, and equally great responsibilities. This may be her greatest test ever, but she must face it.

"What about one of those other people who can stop Cell? Surely one of them could do it, without Sakura getting in the line of fire."

There are a total of two others, besides Sakura, with power roughly equivalent to Cell's. One is almost as strong as Cell, but may not be powerful enough to get the job done. The other has the strength needed to defeat Cell, but he lacks self confidence, and fears that which he needs in order to unleash his full power, which may make it difficult for him to draw upon it when he needs it most. If both fail, only Sakura has any chance of saving the world.

"Mom, Cell just shrugged off enough firepower to obliterate a small city. Is Sakura really powerful enough to hurt him?"

Powerful enough to hurt him, possibly powerful enough to kill him.

"Possibly? You mean she could still lose? I SHOULD tie her up that day! Surely the other two can take him out. They're adults, right?"

One is an adult. The other, the stronger one, is younger than Sakura.

"You're kidding me."

No, I'm not. Tori, even if you did tie Sakura up, she would be able to get free, either with her own powers or the help of her Guardian Beast.

"Guardian Beast...? That stuffed animal she's always got with her..."

Yes. Were you to try to physically restrain Sakura from going to The Cell Games, you would only succeed in driving a wedge between the two of you that is far more substantial than the teasing and occasional bickering you engage in now.

"Well... Maybe I can talk her out of it. Tell her there are other people who can stop Cell."

Who MIGHT stop Cell. Earth has precisely three chances for salvation, including Sakura. Would you cut the world's chances by one-third, just to keep your sister safe?

"If it means Cell won't have a chance to hurt or kill her, you bet I would!"

And what if the other two chances fail? What then? If Cell wins The Cell Games, nothing will be able to stop Sakura from going to face him, and then she will die.

"You mean might die, right? You said she had the power to beat Cell."

Either Cell will die in seven days, or he never will. That much is certain. If he wins The Cell Games, that abomination will grow far stronger than he is now. Too strong for Sakura to have any chance of winning, and he will have no reason to show mercy after the Cell Games are over. If she fights him at The Cell Games and loses, he may spare her life. If she attacks him a day or two after The Cell Games, he WILL kill her. Do not try to stop your sister from doing what she needs to do. Your every instinct is to try to protect her, but you cannot. The fate of the world might rest on Sakura's shoulders.

"Alright, Mom." Tori gave a sigh of defeat "I'll play it your way. But please, if you have any contacts up in Heaven, see if they can fix it so those other two guys fight Cell first. If they fight him first, even if they lose, he'll be easier for Sakura to beat since he'll be tired."

I'll see what I can do. Goodbye until next time, Tori.

"Bye Mom."

The image of Tori's mother faded out as she waved goodbye. Tori let himself fall back to horizontal, his head landing on the pillow, as he mulled over what his mother's ghost had told him. An hour or two later, Tori's friend Julian was walking down the street when he looked up to see a golden streak flying across the sky overhead. Inside the Avalon house, Sakura and Kero looked up from their research in the basement as the golden streak flew overhead. Both feeling the strange energy it was giving off, but not knowing exactly what it was except that they had felt it several times before. Four years ago, they had felt it twice in a single year, then no sign of it until now.

"You feel that, Kero?" Sakura asked

"Yup." the diminutive Guardian Beast answered "Guess it got back from its vacation or something, whatever it is. Twice in one year, then four years before we sense it again."

"It's not just that, Kero. It feels different somehow."

"Feels the same to me."

"No. It's real subtle, but something's changed in it. It's the same as we sensed four years ago, but it's not."

"I think it's just that you're comparing what your highly developed magical senses sensed just now to what your less developed magical senses picked up four years ago. You weren't as powerful then as you are now. Not as in-tune with the magic within and around you. You're probably picking up some nuances you couldn't sense last time this thing popped up."

"I guess you're right. It's just. I can't help feeling like the difference I'm feeling in this strange force is like the difference between the Clow Cards and the Sakura Cards."

"Aw, it's just your imagination. Now C'mon, there's still a few books we haven't gone though."

Upstairs, Tori had also looked up as the golden streak flew overhead. He had felt it quite a few times over the course of his life, always preceded by a period of total blackness in the sky above. He had always been puzzled by it, and had tried asking a few of the ghosts he had seen over the years but never gotten any answers.

They had no way of knowing that the Dragonballs were once again functional after having been rendered powerless by Kami's merging with Piccolo. They didn't even know the Dragonballs existed, nor that the difference Sakura had felt was the difference between Kami's power and Dende's power fueling the Dragonballs.

The next day, after lunch was over, Sakura was laying on her bed, staring at the ceiling while Kero played a video game without his usual enthusiasm. They had finished going through the entirety of her father's library that morning, and had found nothing that matched Cell. As Game Over started to flash on the screen, Sakura's phone rang. She immediately answered it.

"Hello?" she said into the phone

"Sakura-" Li Showron's voice came over the phone

"Li! You found the answer!"

"No Sakura. I-I'm sorry. We couldn't find anything."

"What?"

"Me, Meilin, Wei, my mother, all my siblings... We've gone through my family's arcane library three times and we haven't found anything that fits Cell. He's completely unlike anything any of us has ever read about. I'm completely at a loss to explain it. Not a single clue about him."

"Oh man. Me and Kero came up short too. Let's just hope that Eli can-" Sakura was interrupted by a beep on the line "Hold on Li, that might be him on my call waiting now." Sakura tapped a button on her phone "Eli, is that you?"

"Yes Sakura. It's me." Eli's voice sounded rather dejected

"Oh no, don't tell me you couldn't find anything either."

"Layla, Spinner, Ruby, and I searched through every reference we could find. Ruby and Spinner even broke into the National Museum to check some ancient texts they had under lock and key. We found nothing. Not a single entry that matched Cell. I'm sorry."

"It's alright Eli. Li's whole family came up empty too. I don't know what I'm going to do in six days. Without any info on Cell, I've got no idea what his weaknesses might be."

"When you don't have the key to a lock, you can always try kicking the door in."

"What?" Sakura heard a dial tone, indicating that Eli had hung up. Sighing, Sakura tapped the button again. "Li, that was Eli. He came up dry too. All he said was 'When you don't have a key to a lock, you can always try kicking the door in.' What the heck does that mean?"

"Brute force approach." Li immediately answered "You go at Cell with everything you've got and don't stop until he's dead."

"Do you really think that could work?"

"Without an easy solution, all you've got is the hard way. Cell's powerful, but so are you. You used Fight to take on that berserker demon, right?"

"Yeah. But it was just that, berserk, no real brain in its head. Cell is smart, and he can do a lot more stuff."

"So use more cards with Fight. Power to add strength, Shield to protect you from his blasts, binding cards to hold him in place, and attack cards to blast him from a distance."

"Do you really think that can work?"

"It has to work. It's your only chance."

"Guess I'd better start working on my strategy then, huh."

"Yeah. Sakura... If I don't get another chance to talk to you before The Cell Games... Good luck and..."

"And what Li?"

"I... I love you." Li's declaration was immediately followed by a dial tone

"I love you too, Li." Sakura whispered as she hung up the phone

"The kid's got a good idea." Kero commented, having listened in on the conversation

"Do you think it'll work?"

"Like he said, it's gotta work. But there's something you need to remember: Using more cards at the same time increases the strain on your body and your magic. Remember how exhausted you get every time you use the Time or Return cards? Use too many cards at once, and you'll experience a drain equivalent to using Time or Return alone."

"Guess I'd better start working out which cards to use, then. For the physical combat, I guess Power and Fight together would be best, but I'm worried about if they'll be compatible or not. I used Power to capture Fight, after all."

"Oh, don't worry about that. Power and Fight work great together. Fight respects Power's strength and Power knows Fight is great at using available strength to best effect. It was actually good for Fight's ego that you used Power to capture it. I remember Clow Reed would sometimes let those two out to spar with each other, do a study on skill versus raw strength, or something like that. Never knew which one would come out on top."

"Guess I'd better organize the cards so I know which ones I'll use during the fight."

"Sounds like a good idea. And before you say anything, I'm gonna be going with you for backup."

"Are you sure Kero? Cell's gotta be dangerous."

"No argument, Sakura. I'm the Guardian Beast. No way I'm letting my Mistress walk into danger without me right next to her. Probably be a good idea to bring Yue along too."

"No! I don't want you telling Yue about what I'm doing. And no telling Julian either, before you try to make an end run around my order."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't want to put him in danger. We both know I'm much more powerful than Yue. If I can't beat Cell, he wouldn't stand a chance. If I got killed, Yue would probably go berserk and get himself killed too."

"And if you get killed, he won't be able to draw power from your star anymore. He'd eventually run out of energy and disappear."

"No he wouldn't. He could go back into the book, right? Both of you could hibernate inside the book, like you did before I opened it, until someone else opens the Seal. If it comes to that, you and Madison can retrieve the cards from my body and put them back in the book and you seal it up. Just don't fall asleep on the job, this time."

"Yeesh. You take one little nap and you're marked for life."

"Kero, please. Promise me you won't do anything stupid if Cell kills me."

"Nothing stupid, I promise. Can't say the same about insane, though."

"Kero!"

"Alright, alright. I won't do anything stupid or insane if you get killed." *But I might throw myself in the way if it looks like you're about to be killed.*

Sakura took out the Sakura Cards and started organizing them, dividing them into ones she would use throughout the fight, including Power and Fight, binding cards, attack cards, and cards she would not use at all. The day before The Cell Games, Sakura packed everything she needed for a sleepover, including the Sakura Book, and was about to head out the door with Kero in her bag.

"I'm heading to Madison's for our sleepover!" she called out as she started to open the door

"Have a good time, Sakura." Sakura's father called from the kitchen

"Sakura." Tori said softly as he stepped up right next to his sister "Do you really expect me to believe you're just going on a sleepover?"

"Wh-What're you talking about Tori?" Sakura asked as she sweatdropped

"Leaving the day before The Cell Games? Pretty suspicious."

"I-I'm not going to The Cell Games. I'm just going over to Madison's house. You know, one last sleepover in case that Mr. Satan guy blows it and Cell takes over the world."

"Uh huh. Well, good luck."

"Good luck with what?" Sakura was now sweating profusely

"You know what." Tori said mysteriously and walked over to the kitchen

Sakura mechanically walked out the door and started down the street towards the bus station. As she went out of sight of her house, Kero popped out of her bag.

"I think your brother's on to us, Sakura." he said

"But how could he know?" Sakura wondered "I didn't tell him and you didn't tell him and Madison wouldn't tell him and Julian doesn't know..."

"He can see ghosts, remember? Maybe one of them told him."

"Well, assuming we come out of this in one piece each, I think we should still try to keep things under wraps, in case he doesn't really know."

"Sounds fine to me. Though I can't help but feel like he knows I'm not a normal stuffed animal."

"I don't have time to think about that now. I'm too nervous about the fight with Cell."

"Y'know, Li and Eli might still be able to catch a flight to Eastern City in time to meet us at The Cell Games before it starts."

"No Kero, I told you, I told them, and I'm telling you again: I don't want them getting hurt if I blow it. We all know I'm more powerful than both of them combined. I'd never be able to forgive myself if anything happened to either of them, especially Li."

"But the backup could come in handy..."

"I don't want to hear anything more about this, Kero. The subject is closed."

"Alright, alright. But I'm gonna go on record as saying that I think it's a bad idea to go after a largely unknown quantity like Cell with only a single Guardian Beast for backup when you could have me, Yue, Li, Eli, and likely Ruby and Spinner too."

"Noted, and rejected. Drop the subject Kero. You're not going to convince me. If they have any respect for my wishes, neither Eli nor Li will be there, which is good, since they won't get hurt. Ah, here comes the bus."

Kero immediately went quiet and motionless as the bus pulled up to the bus stop and Sakura got on. She rode the bus to the stop near the mansion where Madison and her mother lived and then walked to the front gates, which opened almost as soon as Sakura pressed the intercom button. She walked down the path and was greeted at the front door by Madison.

"Hi Sakura!" she smiled as she opened the door

"Hi, Madison." Sakura smiled back

"C'mon, it's all finished. Just could use a final fitting."

Sakura already knew what 'it' was as they walked up to Madison's room. The item in question was hanging from a portable rack in the center of Madison's main room. The new battle costume designed specifically to be worn at The Cell Games.

"It's ummm..." Sakura was at a loss for words as she saw the battle costume for the first time

"It looks great!" Kero declared as he flew out of Sakura's bag to float in the air in front of her

"I just need you to try it on, to make sure it fits perfectly." Madison said "Can't have it flopping around while you're fighting Cell, after all."

"Uhhh, OK."

Sakura reluctantly tried on the battle costume and Madison meticulously checked the fit.

"A perfect fit!" Madison declared at length

"It seems a little snug." Sakura observed

"It's skintight. Harder for Cell to get a grip on it during the fight. C'mon, take a look at yourself in the mirror."

Sakura did as she was asked and gasped as she saw herself. The battle costume was bright pink, made of a spandex-like material that clung to every curve of Sakura's teenage body. It covered Sakura's entire body from the neck down, the sleeves went all the way to her wrists, where they tucked into pink gloves, and the pants of the outfit were tucked into a pair of pink combat boots. There was a decorative skirt that went down to just above Sakura's knees and was slit on both sides to allow for unhindered movement. Sewn into the skirt were several pouches suitable for holding Sakura Cards, each was big enough to accommodate the entire deck. On her chest was the wing symbol that decorated many of Sakura's possessions. The symbol was also on a pink cape with white lining that was attached to the shoulders of the costume and hung down to just above her waist. Finally, covering her eyes were a pair of Oakley O Frame snow goggles with a pink frame and band and a pink-tinted lens.

"Madison, it's..." Sakura struggled for the words

"I know, I know. Another work of fashion excellence." Madison grinned

"But... It looks like something a comic book superheroine would wear."

"Very appropriate, since you'll be seen as the world's most powerful superheroine after you beat Cell."

"But nobody's gonna take me seriously in this getup."

"All the better. Cell won't take you seriously, so he'll underestimate you and you'll have the advantage. You'll kick his butt and look good doing it."

"Wellll, I guess I'll need every advantage I can get, but where'd you find pink combat boots?"

"You'd be surprised what you can find online, these days. Oh, Kero, will you be going in your true form or your usual look?"

"My true form." Kero answered "I've got more power when I'm in my true form. No point in being a stuffed animal around Cell."

"Aw shoot, and I made a cool mini-costume for you, too."

"I'll find a way to make it up to you, somehow."

"Anyway, after dinner, we'll just have a few more things to take care of and then we need to go to bed early."

"Why?" Sakura asked as she took off her goggles

"I've done some calculations. Based on the Fly card's maximum speed, we need to wake up at 6 AM, have a hearty breakfast, get dressed, and be on our way by 7 AM to get there on time."

Just then, there was a knock on Madison's door.

"Miss Madison," A servant's voice came from the other side of the door "Dinner will be ready in five minutes

"We'll take it up here, Maggie." Madison called back

"Yes, miss."

Sakura changed out of her battle costume and hung it back up on the rack. The servant brought up dinner and Sakura, Madison, and Kero ate. After dinner, they went over the route to the location of the Cell Games ring and then went to bed. Sakura had a little trouble getting to sleep, her mind occupied with what would happen the next day.

End of chapter 1

Next chapter, Sakura and company head for The Cell Games, and meet some very familiar characters, including the world's biggest blowhard, the world's greatest hero, a certain arrogant prince, and a boy with power belying his age. What's this! Piccolo and Keroberos know each other! Get the whole story in Clow and Ki chapter 2.

If you want to know what Sakura's goggles look like, here's the URL for the page I found them on, including a picture and description, as well as price(it's the site that sells them, though they don't come in pink)

/ostore/goggles/snow_o_frame/

Special thanks to DarkHeart81 for telling me about those goggles. Without them, I woulda been stuck on Sakura's headgear for who knows how long. Go read his lovely story "Two Halves of a Soul" once is back up. It's a story where Gohan and Videl meet right after the Cell Games, while dark clouds start to gather on the future horizon. Could Gohan and Videl's love be the only thing that can save the universe?


	2. Journey and Preliminaries

Clow and Ki

Written by: Jumper Prime

I forgot to put a Disclaimer on chapter 1, so I'll do it now. I don't own Dragonball Z, Card Captor Sakura, or any of the characters therein. I have combined the 2 series according to my own vision. This I have done for my own enjoyment and the enjoyment of others. I am receiving no money for this, so please don't sue me(I haven't got much to be sued for, anyway)

Chapter 2: Journey and Preliminaries

May 26, 767 A.D.

At precisely 6 AM, Madison's alarm clock went off, waking the two girls and one Guardian Beast sleeping in the room. Madison got out of bed immediately, closely followed by Kero, who got out of his miniature bed. Sakura was a little slower to get off her cot, but with some coaxing from Madison and Kero, was soon up and around as well. A servant brought breakfast up to Madison's room and the girls and Kero ate it. Sakura and Madison then showered and got dressed, Sakura in her new battle costume and Madison in regular clothes with sunglasses and a scarf over her hair. As Kero transformed into his true form, that of a winged lion-like creature with pieces of armor on his head and chest, Sakura noticed that, along with a purse and her ever-present video camera, Madison was holding a crystalline object that looked like some sort of three-dimensional puzzle.

"What's with the shades, Madison?"Sakura asked "And what're you doing with the chariot?"

"I'm coming with you, duh. The shades are to help hide my face from any other cameras that might be there." Madison answered

"No way! Madison, you are staying here! I didn't want Li, Eli, or Yue to come, and they would have at least a little ability to defend themselves from Cell's power. You wouldn't stand a chance if he attacked you."

"Sakura, this is the most important fight of your Cardcaptor career. There is no possible way that I am missing out on filming you saving the world. All I need is for you to use your magic to activate the chariot and off we go."

"Forget it, Madison. You're not coming with us. I am not using my magic to activate the Crystal Chariot for you."

"In that case, I'll just have to solve it manually so it'll activate itself. My best time so far is about 23 minutes. I could well arrive while you're fighting Cell, and I might get hit by a stray blast on approach, but that's the price a journalist pays for going where the big story is."

"Madison-"

"There's no talking me out of it, Sakura. No matter what, I'm going. It's up to you whether or not I get the whole story safely or if I only get part of it and risk my life doing so."

"You'll still be risking your life, even if you go there with us. What if Cell decides to kill you? What if I'm not fast enough to save you?"

"Keroberos can watch out for me. And who says I'd even be a target for Cell, anyway? I'm not gonna be there to fight, just to record your victory. Now, do I come with you and Keroberos or on my own?"

"Madison... I wish your mom had never found that thing in an antique store."

Sakura sighed and raised her arm, palm facing Madison. A small mote of light flew from Sakura's hand and into the crystalline object, which floated out of Madison's hands and hovered in front of her. The different parts shifted around as though someone were manipulating them with great speed. After about thirty seconds, the object's parts stopped shifting around as one last piece locked into place, making the puzzle a perfect crystalline sphere. The sphere glowed with bright light and quickly grew, changing shape as it did so. When it finally stopped glowing, it had become a wheelless crystal chariot that floated several inches above the floor.

Madison smiled and raised her video camera as Sakura took her magic key from around her neck and began to work her magic.

"Oh key of the star, with powers burning bright," Sakura intoned "Reveal the staff, and shine your light! RELEASE!"

The air filled with so much magic that even Madison could feel it as a magical wind blew around Sakura while her key expanded into her magical staff, topped by a five-pointed star inside a hoop framed by white wings.

"FLY!" Sakura called out as she tossed up a card and struck it with the top of her staff as it reached the top of its arc.

The star in Sakura's staff spun quickly as magical energy poured from the card, which vanished moments later. A pair of wings shimmered into existence, apparently sprouting from Sakura's back under her cape. Sakura and Keroberos stepped onto Madison's balcony as Madison got on the chariot. She placed one hand on a round jewel set in the center of the chariot's rim while using the other to aim her video camera at Sakura and Keroberos.

Sakura and Keroberos flapped their wings and flew into the air. A moment later, after making sure the way was clear, Madison concentrated and the jewel under her hand glowed blue, right before the chariot shot through the air, just missing the balcony rail as she flew after her friends.

"And so, our fearless heroine and her faithful Guardian Beast took off for the journey to The Cell Games, with yours truly following to record her coming victory." Madison narrated before turning off her video camera and putting it away.

The trio flew directly towards the Cell Games arena with Sakura in the lead. Sakura did not need a map or compass to find her way to her destination. Cell's evil power was a beacon that could not be ignored, like a black hole in a sea of light. After flying for some time, they came into sight of the pure white square that was the ring where The Cell Games would soon be held. As they got closer, they began to make out people standing in and around the fighting ring. Suddenly, the crystal chariot Madison was piloting took a steep dive, accelerating away from her friends. Madison's chariot skimmed above the ground before making contact with it, skidded along the ground and fishtailed before coming to a stop with its side facing the ring, only a few inches away.

Madison grabbed her video camera and filmed Sakura and Kero as they came in for their more sedate landings. As Sakura's feet touched the ground outside the ring, her magical wings flickered and vanished. The arrival of the trio was enough to make Cell raise one eyebrow for a moment before his face returned to the stoic mask he had maintained for over a week.

"What was that about?" Sakura demanded of her friend

"I had to land first so I could film your landing, of course." Madison answered "I think it was one of my better landings, too."

Their arrival had not gone unnoticed by the reporter and cameraman in the ring, nor by the alleged strongest man in the world, Mr. Satan, who stood next to them. The cameraman had caught their landings on camera, as he had those of Android 16 and the Z-fighters, who were standing outside the ring.

"Three more individuals have just arrived." the reporter narrated "A girl on a rather unusually styled air-vehicle, a... winged lion, and a girl in a rather odd costume, this last apparently having wings as she flew in but now there is no sign of them. I don't understand it."

"It's another trick!" Mr. Satan declared "The girl in the costume never really had wings, that was just an illusion. She was really being towed along though the air by the girl in the vehicle then used her cape to slow down when they landed. Probably some fans who wanted to try and impress me with a flashy entrance. I give them a four out of ten for style and ingenuity."

"Ohhh. I see. Yes, that makes perfect sense. I don't know why I didn't think of it."

"What a dork." Madison muttered as she turned to get a shot of Cell, then raised her voice enough to be clearly picked up by her camera "And there is the villain of the piece. Cell, the evil demon who our brave heroine will shortly send back to Hell with her supreme magical powers."

Madison stepped down off the Crystal Chariot and it changed back into its puzzle-like form before floating into her opened purse. The reporter and cameraman walked over to the side of the ring where Sakura, Keroberos, and Madison were standing and stepped down.

"Excuse me." The reporter said and Madison turned to face him "Don't tell me you're here to fight Cell."

"Me? Oh gosh no." Madison chuckled a little "I'm just here to film my girl here," Madison gestured toward Sakura with her free hand "Taking Cell down and saving the world."

"A young girl like that? Fighting a monster like Cell? She's certain to get badly hurt. Luckily for her, the great Mr. Satan is here to handle everything. Don't worry, little girl, he'll defeat Cell, no problem."

"Unless there's a lot more to Mr. Satan than what everybody knows about, he's not gonna stand a chance. Lucky for us, my best friend here has all the power she needs to save the world."

"Oh the childish fantasies of a young girl." the reporter chuckled

"Amazingly enough," Vegeta said to his fellow warriors, who were standing along another side of the fighting ring "I actually agree with that fool. The girl may have a higher Ki than that conceited fool, Mr. Satan, but it's still lower than Radditz's was. If she tries to fight Cell, he will swat her like a gnat."

"Don't be so sure about that, Vegeta." Piccolo responded "There are more kinds of strength than just what you know about."

"And just what is THAT supposed to mean, Namek?"

"Shakespeare said 'There are more things in Heaven and Earth than are dreamed of in your philosophy.'"

"What DO you mean, Mr. Piccolo?" Gohan asked more politely than Vegeta had

"Suffice to say, a person's Ki can't always tell you how powerful they are. There are kinds of power that only affect Ki level indirectly, not to mention she's probably hiding most of her power, right now, if she truly intends to fight Cell."

"Personally, I think she's been reading too many comic books." Yamcha commented "I mean, look at that outfit!"

Meanwhile, across the ring, the cameraman had focused on Sakura, who was blushing quite a bit.

"So, what's your name, little lady?" the reporter asked "Just so we can put a name to the face."

"Me? I'm uhhh, errr..." Sakura stammered, unwilling to give her real name, but unable to come up with a pseudonym on such short notice

"Call her, Cardcaptor." Keroberos suggested

"Cardcaptor?" the reporter blinked "That's a rather unusual name."

"It is a title. One she has earned several times over."

"I... See."

"OK then," Goku smiled as he audibly cracked his knuckles "Let's get this thing going, and if you want, I'll be first."

"Goku, you don't have to be the first one to fight." Trunks said

"What do you say, Vegeta?"

"Be my guest." the Prince of all Saiyans answered "We all know it will be me who ends up finishing off Cell."

"HEY! DON'T YOU KNOW I'M THE CHAMP AROUND HERE!" Mr. Satan bellowed as the reporter and cameraman scrambled back across the ring to where the Z-fighters stood

"Um. Excuse me sir," the reporter asked Goku "But I was just wondering if you or your friends were going to take part in the tournament?"

"Of course." Goku answered "I'll be going first."

"They have no idea what they're getting into." Sakura muttered as Mr. Satan and Krillin exchanged words

"I suspect at least one of them does." Keroberos responded as the reporter fell off the edge of the ring

"Huh?" Madison blinked just before Mr. Satan ripped a rock out of the ground and broke it over his own head "That's gotta hurt."

"It's time." Cell said simply "Who will be the first to challenge?"

Mr. Satan stepped forward while Sakura got up onto the ring

"You're looking at him." Mr. Satan replied "Let's get it on!"

"No!" Sakura shouted "Mr. Satan, with all due respect, you don't know what you're up against. Cell's too powerful for any regular person to stop. I have to fight him. I'm the only one who can."

The Z-fighters were intrigued by the amount of truth in Sakura's words, while Mr. Satan, the reporter, and the cameraman just laughed.

"You've been reading too many comic books, little girl." the world champion declared "I mean, look at that Halloween costume you're wearing. Only a child would fall for Cell's little trick and think that those explosions that wiped out the soldiers attacking him were the result of weird powers instead of pre-planted bombs."

"She's right, Mr. Satan!" Goku shouted "If you fight Cell you're going to get killed!"

"OK Lionel, get a close up of the guy with the big hair." the reporter ordered his camerman, who did as ordered "Are we on? Good. Ahem. Just moments ago, this long-haired guy, as well as the girl calling herself Cardcaptor, had the audacity to tell the people's hero, Hercule Satan, to back down from the tournament. Imagine, telling the martial-arts champion of the world he was going to be beaten. Having followed Mr. Satan's amazing career over the years I have one question to ask these know-it-all brats: WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? And until we can get this amateur and the little girl to leave, the main event won't begin. I have never seen anything so unprofessional in all my life!"

"Look little girl," Mr. Satan spoke to Sakura as an adult talking to a young child "You go back to ringside and keep your mouth shut, and after I've beaten Cell, I'll give you my autograph."

"I don't want your autograph!" Sakura shouted back "Don't you understand that I'm the only one who can stop Cell! He's got powers like you've never seen before!"

"You might as well let him try." Madison said "After he tries and fails, you'll look even better as you kick Cell's butt."

"You're not going to be able to talk him out of it, anyway." Keroberos agreed "Might as well let him have his shot."

"Alright." Sakura let out an angry sigh "Mr. Satan, please try not to get killed. If you die, I'll never be able to forgive myself, knowing I could have prevented it."

Sakura turned and walked back to the edge of the ring, then jumped down to stand next to Kero and Madison while Goku made a hand signal showing his own contrition.

"He's going to get himself killed." Sakura said softly "I should've levitated him with the Float card to prove to him that those 'weird comic book powers' are just as real as he is."

"It would've been a waste of energy." Keroberos responded "You know how people who don't believe in magic simply can't perceive it. He would've likely dismissed it as a 'trick' anyway, and possibly claimed you were in league with Cell, taking advantage of a booby trap he supposedly rigged up. Plus, you need to be as fresh as possible for the fight."

"Not to mention that with all the hot air that guy's packing, the Float card would probably send him into orbit." Madison chuckled as she focused her camera on Mr. Satan, who was starting to take off his cape while the reporter narrated.

"HOLD ON, EVERYBODY!" an amplified female voice was suddenly heard "IT'S TIME TO GET HAPPY!"

Everyone looked up to see a pink twin-rotor helicopter flying in from above. The woman's voice was blaring from it as it descended.

"Could it be?" the reporter wondered

"THAT'S RIGHT!" the woman's voice seemingly answered the reporter "THE FABULOUS DUO IS HERE! ONE'S GOT STRENGTH, ONE'S GOT GRACE, AND EVERYBODY'S GOT THE LOVE!"

The helicopter flew a bit lower, then, when it was directly over the ring, a door opened in the side and two men jumped out. The first was a lean blonde man with a rose in his mouth, the other was a large man wearing what looked like a black metal elephant mask. The man in white landed on his feet, the other did not, but seemed unhurt as he stood up a moment later. As soon as the big man was on his feet, a woman in red jumped out of the chopper and into the big man's outstretched arms before being set down on her feet.

"It looks like we have new challengers to take on Cell!" the reporter announced "But who are they and where are they from?"

"We are the students of Maestro Satan!" the big man stated with a thick accent as he and the man in white posed

"Yes." the man in white did a pirouette before settling down into a new pose "Gaze upon me, I am Caroni."

"Arrrrr!" the big man growled as he flexed, stressing the bands around his upper arms "And I am the stupendous power-man Pirozhki!" Steam issued from nozzles on Pirozhki's headgear as he finished his declaration.

"Could these possibly be the often talked about Satan's apprentices?" the reporter wondered

"That's right, my friend," the woman walked up to the reporter holding her own microphone in her hand "These two are the senior disciples of Mr. Satan's world-renowned martial-arts dojo. So let's pave the way for our raw man of muscle, Pirozhki. And our dashing speedster, Caroni."

"That's great! And who are you?"

"I am their spectacular manager Miss Piiza!" Miss Piiza showily blew a kiss to the camera

"Maestro, please let us take care of him." Caroni asked his mentor "There's no point in your fighting this sissy."

"I will crush him up!" Pirozhki declared

"Hmm, you're right." Mr. Satan agreed "It could be a little embarrassing for me to take on such an amateur as Cell. He's all yours."

"Whoaah Nellie!" the reporter shouted as Mr. Satan turned to leave the ring "You heard it right here, folks! We have some new challengers! And this dynamic duo will replace their mentor in Round One. What a turn of events! Ladies and gentlemen, this is great news! With the help of Mr. Satan's devoted students, how can we fail?"

"They're just more lambs to the slaughter." Sakura whispered sadly

While everyone except Caroni and Cell left the ring, Piccolo started walking around the ring towards where Sakura, Keroberos, and Madison were standing.

"Where're you going, Mr. Piccolo?" Gohan asked his idol

"I'll be right back, kid." Piccolo responded "Just gotta talk to an old friend."

"An old friend?"

Piccolo didn't elaborate as he walked around to stand next to Keroberos, facing the ring.

"Hello Keroberos." Piccolo said

"Hello to you too, Kami. It's been a while." Keroberos returned the greeting

"And now, let the tournament begin!" the reporter announced "Introducing Cell's first challenger, in the white spandex jumpsuit, the lovely Caroni!"

"As this is the first chance we've had to fight and whatnot, I'll be gentle." Caroni sniffed the bouquet of roses he held in his hand, then threw it up in the air. He immediately jumped in the air and shredded it with lightning fast strikes from his hands and feet, causing it to rain rose petals after he landed. "Those are for you. A bouquet for your funeral."

"Man, he's good! And I'll bet you this won't go more than one round!"

"Actually, I'm not Kami." Piccolo continued speaking to Keroberos "I'm Piccolo, though I did recently merge with Kami again."

"The tension is beginning to mount as Caroni warms up for the first round of The Cell Games. The rules are simple. You lose if you fall from the ring, give up or... if you die."

"Are you nervous?" Caroni asked Cell "Don't worry. It'll only hurt for a moment. Beautiful Flying Rose, ATTACK!"

Caroni jumped high in the air. Just as he reached the top of his arc, a pulse of energy from Cell sent him flying even higher, out of control. Madison used the zoom function on her camera to try to follow him but he soon went so high, she couldn't see him. Ten to twelve seconds later, Caroni fell back into view and crashed into the ground outside the ring, making a rather deep Caroni-shaped depression in the earth. Sakura grimaced as she saw Caroni's fall but relaxed a moment later as the blonde man clawed his way out of the hole in the ground.

"There's one for the blooper reel!" Madison grinned, having caught Caroni's entire 'flight' on tape.

"Piccolo!" Keroberos turned to look at Piccolo in shock "The evil part of himself that Kami cast out long ago?"

"Caroni, the first challenger in The Cell Games," the reporter said "Has lost by falling out of the ring. How terrible!" the reporter announced as Pirozhki stepped up onto the ring

"Now, it is my turn!" the muscleman declared

Pirozhki roared, beat his chest, and then pulled off his helmet before crushing it into a ball. He threw it in the air and caught it in his mouth, then chewed and swallowed it.

"Don't worry, I've reformed since then." Piccolo reassured the Guardian Beast

"Get ready for round two!" the reporter warned

Pirozhki started windmilling his arms then charged at Cell. The huge man came to an abrupt stop, as though he had run into an invisible wall, which he had. By concentrating, Sakura and Keroberos could see a slight shimmering in the air around Cell.

"Kero, you know this guy?" Sakura turned to look at her friend and Piccolo

"Yes," Keroberos answered "Clow Reed, Yue, and I met him a few centuries ago. He is the Guardian of the Earth."

"I GIVE UP!" Pirozhki yelled right before he was thrown backwards by an unseen force and tumbled head over heels until he rolled off he edge of the ring, just missing Mr. Satan before he crashed to the ground, making a shallow depression

"Not anymore." Piccolo corrected his, or rather Kami's, old friend "I sorta retired. Earth has a new Guardian, now."

"Wait. Then why isn't he here to stop Cell?" Sakura asked as Mr. Satan walked onto the ring

"The Guardian of the Earth usually works behind the scenes, and I'm not strong enough to beat Cell. I assume she's the new master of the Clow Cards?" Piccolo nodded his head at Sakura

"In the next few minutes," the reporter kept talking, though he was ignored by Sakura, Madison, Keroberos, and Piccolo "The fate of the entire Earth will be decided between Cell and the undisputed martial-arts champion of the world! And I'm not too worried because Mr. Satan promised to give Cell a hand through the stomach!"

"Actually, they're the Sakura cards, now." Keroberos said as Mr. Satan adjusted his gi and decapsulated a bag of 15 ceramic tiles "But they're just as powerful as they were when Clow Reed was alive."

"What's with the outfit?" Piccolo asked as Mr. Satan stacked the tiles

"Psychological edge."

"Yeah, right. And the paparazzi?"

"Hey!" Madison was indignant "I'm not a paparazzi! I'm her official chronicler. I've recorded her adventures since she first became a Cardcaptor." Madison chuckled as Mr. Satan broke only 14 of the 15 tiles, leaving the bottom one unscathed "What a dweeb. I think he hurt his hand, biting off more than he could chew."

"Cell!" Mr. Satan pointed at the shattered fragments of tile "You see these pieces of busted tile on the ground? Well, that's what I'm gonna do to your face!"

"There's no question!" the reporter declared "Hercule Satan is the undisputed martial-arts champion of the world! Oh, it looks like Cell is getting worried. But then, who wouldn't after seeing such an amazing display of power? This is getting good. IT'S Payback time folks! Cell's made his ring and now he's got to sleep in it."

"Let's go!" Mr. Satan said as he got into a fighting stance

"It looks like our hero's ready to fight! It's hard to believe that Mr. Satan's iron hands are finally gonna have their revenge on Cell for what he's done to the people of Earth. In mere moments, it will all be over, so don't you dare blink an eye. It's all up to you Mr. Satan! We're counting on you!" Mr Satan launched into his ineffectual attacks on Cell

"It's been good talking to you again, Keroberos." Piccolo said as he turned to walk back to where the Z-fighters were standing "Let's hope we get a chance to talk again, soon."

Piccolo walked back to the rest of the Z-fighters as Mr. Satan unleashed his futile assault on Cell. The Namekian warrior resumed his former position shortly before Cell sent Mr. Satan flying into the side of a cliff with a single sweep of his arm.

"To be honest, Gohan, I was rooting for Cell to win that little scrap." Krillin confided in the young warrior standing next to him

"Look, he survived." Piccolo smirked, seeing that Mr. Satan was still moving "I guess Cell didn't want to waste any energy on that weakling."

"Did you have a nice talk with your friend, Piccolo?" Goku asked "Who are they, anyway?"

"Keroberos is the Guardian Beast of the Seal of the Clow- I mean the Sakura Cards. The girl in the costume is his new master."

"And this concerns us, how?" Vegeta demanded in his usual acerbic tone

"If she plays her cards right-" Piccolo smirked at his little pun "She could potentially be powerful enough to take on Cell."

"In how many centuries? Weak little girls like her have no business being near a battlefield."

"Try less than a minute, if that. As I said, she has a different kind of strength than ours. You wouldn't understand."

"So, let's get the tournament underway." Cell said "Who will be first? Will it be Goku, to start things off?"

"No!" Sakura yelled as she stepped up onto the ring "It'll be me! You'll fight me first, demon!"

"I'm very sorry, little one," Cell turned to speak to Sakura "But I'm afraid that Goku has 'preregistered,' you might say. He stopped by last week to ask for the first slot, and I agreed. Perhaps you can have your shot later. Going later in the schedule will be to your advantage, you know. I'll likely be somewhat tired from my previous battles."

"But-"

"Don't worry." Goku grinned at Sakura "I know what I'm getting into."

Sakura's eyes widened as their eyes met and she felt a bright light from within the man named Goku. Goku's light was as intense as Cell's darkness, signifying that their power was almost equal. Sakura realized that this man had a good chance of defeating Cell.

"Good luck." she said, then jumped off the ring to land next to her friends

"Sakura, why'd you back down?" Madison asked in a whisper "Aren't you worried about that guy?"

"He's got some serious power, Madison." Sakura whispered back "He might be able to beat Cell on his own."

"I gotta get this on tape." Madison raised her camera

"Let's do it!" Goku said as he stepped up onto the ring

End of chapter 2

The battle between Goku and Cell is about to start, with Sakura and her friends looking on from ringside. How will they react to the fight to come? Will they be blown away by what they see, or will they take it in stride? Will they be literally blown away by the shockwaves from the coming battle? Find out in chapter 3 of Clow and Ki.


	3. Goku VS Cell

Clow and Ki

Written by: Jumper Prime

For Disclaimers see chapter 2.

Chapter 3: Goku VS. Cell

Goku walked across the ring to stand in front of Cell. For several moments, no one moved, except for the quivering reporter, and no one talked, except for the reporter who was announcing that Earth's only hope, Mr. Satan, had been defeated.

"This, should be good!" the golden-haired boy said

"Yeah." agreed the short bald man standing next to him

"Here we go." Madison narrated loud enough to be picked up by her camera's microphone "Will this guy have the power to defeat Cell, or will the task fall to our mighty Cardcaptor? You viewers should know by now what this avid chronicler thinks."

Cell uncrossed his arms and began to speak

"As I'm sure you know by now," he said "I've been waiting for this. Killing the helpless quickly grows old. I'm counting on you for amusement while I test my body."

"I hear you're designed to use all our techniques against us." Goku noted

"Perfection."

Both Cell and Goku got into fighting stances and became focused on each other, both watching for any sign of weakness from their opponent. As Mr. Satan claimed his defeat was the result of simply slipping, Sakura simply shook her head in disbelief, reminding herself how those with no belief in the supernatural simply couldn't see its effects, even when it went on two inches in front of their nose.

"Kero, the way they're talking..." Sakura whispered softly to her Guardian Beast

"Yes. It's as though they know each other." Keroberos nodded

"And that Cell was created somehow. Maybe that's why there was nothing on him in the books?"

"Perhaps. Though we should've been able to find some sort of hint, somewhere."

"Do you really think some evil sorcerer or demon lord created Cell? Maybe to kill this guy and his friends?"

"Maybe. If only we'd known this beforehand, for every spell to create a creature, there's a spell to unmake it. Both Li and Eli have more formal training in actual spells than you, and might have been able to remember one that could unmake Cell. If only you'd allowed them to come."

"If wishes were horses, beggars would ride." Madison quoted "Hindsight is 20/20. You couldn't have known Cell was created with a spell. This guy'll probably lose, then it'll be up to you to take Cell down. I know you can do it. You've never failed yet."

Finally, after three minutes and fifty seconds of Goku and Cell standing silent and motionless, Cell spoke one word.

"Ding." Cell said simply and both he and Goku exploded into action.

Goku shot towards Cell and spun into a high kick, which Cell blocked with a raised forearm. Goku threw a punch which Cell blocked with a raised palm and retaliated with a roundhouse punch, which Goku ducked underneath. Cell threw a kick which Goku jumped over. While still airborne, Goku spun in a kick which Cell dodged under, going horizontal and pivoting on one arm to sweep his legs under Goku in an attempt to knock him to the ground. Goku saw the move coming and shifted to plant his hand and spring away, doing several hand springs backwards until he reached the edge of the ring.

Goku seemed to vanish and reappeared behind Cell a second later as Cell ducked to avoid a kick, then grabbed Goku's elbow as he tried to drive it into Cell's neck. Cell then used his grip on Goku's elbow to throw the golden-haired warrior through the air. Goku landed on his feet at the far side of the ring and immediately charged back at Cell. As Goku reached Cell, they began exchanging blows at rapid speed. They were moving so fast, Madison couldn't tell how many punches hit and how many were blocked. Suddenly, both combatants hit each other simultaneously, Cell punching Goku in the face and Goku kicking Cell in his own face. They broke apart from each other and landed on their respective feet, staring at each other across the ring. Madison was surprised to notice that Goku was smiling.

While Mr. Satan bragged, the fight quickly resumed with Goku and Cell exchanging blows. Goku dodged a punch by jumping backwards, then he charged again, with Cell also advancing towards him. Just before they would have collided, Goku leaped over Cell, soaring high into the air and then vanished. Cell rested on one knee for a moment before standing up and going very still. For a few moments, all was quiet, then Cell blocked a series of punches and kicks that seemed to come out of nowhere then kicked out at air and hit Goku, knocking him back, though the warrior did a handspring and landed on his feet.

Goku charged at Cell again, and seemed to pass right through before vanishing. A moment later, the real Goku charged in and punched Cell in the stomach, causing the creature to cry out while being driven back to the edge of the ring. Goku jumped up and kicked Cell in the face, knocking him out of the ring.

"He won!" Madison yelled, both relieved and dismayed. Relieved because Cell had been defeated and dismayed because the defeat wasn't at Sakura's hands. Suddenly, Cell stopped in mid air.

"It's not over Madison." Sakura said quietly, with her eyes firmly closed while Cell floated back onto the ring "He can fly."

"Sorry," Cell said without a hint of remorse "But did you think you had defeated me?"

"Hmmph," Goku relaxed his stance as Cell levitated just above the ring before touching down in the center. "I won't fall for your cheap pranks. I knew all along that it wouldn't be that easy to take you out, Cell."

"I thought it'd be appropriate to play a little joke since you aren't fighting me seriously."

"Hey, you're holding back as well."

"Little by little I shall reveal to you, the perfect power that lies within me."

"Bring it on." Goku got back into a fighting stance as he finished speaking. Everything was still, once again as the two fighters sized each other up.

"THAT wasn't fighting seriously?" Madison blinked in shock "I'm gonna have to play the tape back in slow-mo later just to see everything that happened already.

"They've only used a fraction of their power so far." Sakura noted with her eyes still closed "The fight's just gonna get more intense.

"You seem to be enjoying yourself," Cell said to Goku "Very much. I'm not surprised. As a Saiyan, fighting is all you live for."

"Are you saying you're any different?" Goku asked and Cell chuckled

"It depends on who I'm fighting." Cell answered as he started walking clamly toward Goku

"Well then, I'll try not to disappoint you."

Cell suddenly surged forward and threw a punch, which Goku ducked underneath. He kicked at Cell from his crouch, but the evil being vanished into thin air, immediately followed by Goku. The battle apparently continuing, Goku and Cell kept appearing long enough to throw a few punches and/or kicks, then disappearing a few seconds later. Madison panned around wildly with her camera in a futile attempt to film the fight, but it was useless. Removing her gaze from her camera's eyepiece, Madison turned to look at Sakura and saw that her friend had her eyes closed.

"Aren't you gonna even try to watch the fight?" Madison asked

"I am watching the fight, Madison." Sakura replied in a distant tone

"And so am I." Keroberos chimed in, using the same tone

Madison looked past her best friend to Keroberos and saw that he had his eyes shut as well. She then glanced at Sakura's staff and saw that it was slowly rotating. The rotation was very slow, compared to the rapid spinning that occurred when Sakura activated a card, only two or three revolutions per minute.

"I get it! You're using your magic to see them!" Madison quickly deduced.

"That's right." Keroberos nodded slowly

In Sakura's and Kero's minds, they were perceiving the surrounding area as if in Virtual Reality. Each person standing near the ring glowed from their inner life force, except for the red-haired giant, who strangely seemed to have none, as if he were a statue. Mr. Satan and his fanclub had the same dim glow that most humans had, but the motley group on the opposite side of the ring from them all glowed extremely bright. One of them, the little boy, glowed as bright as Goku did. Cell was a black mass, a humanoid hole in the image. Sakura and Keroberos could each adjust their individual viewpoints to whatever angle they wished, and did so as they followed the battle.

After a number of appearances and disappearances, they reappeared high above the ring, grappling with each other. Goku kicked Cell higher into the air, then vanished and reappeared above him, striking his opponent and knocking him down towards the ring. Goku followed Cell down, both hitting the ring almost simultaneously. When the smoke from the impact cleared, Goku and Cell were exchanging blows once more. The fight was intensifying to a point where the punches and kicks were throwing off shockwaves, astonishing Mr. Satan's apprentices and startling Madison. Sakura and Keroberos were too focused on their mystical view of the battle to take note.

Soon, a flurry of rapid fire punches into Goku's block were driving the golden-haired warrior slowly backwards, towards his entourage. Goku teetered on the edge of the ring as Cell reared back to deliver a punch that would knock his opponent from the ring. Cell threw a punch but his fist passed right through Goku as the warrior's image faded out. A few moments later Goku appeared in the center of the ring, facing Cell. Cell straightened up and half-turned to glance at Goku.

"Oh, you're good." Cell smirked

Cell immediately turned and flew at Goku. Goku raised his arms to block and slid backwards due to the speed of Cell's flight. As they neared the edge of the ring, Goku allowed himself to fall and kicked Cell in the abdomen with both legs, sending Cell high into the air. Goku immediately was back on his feet and jumped into the air after his opponent, his hands cupped to one side.

"KA-ME-HA-" Goku chanted as Sakura felt energy gathering between his palms "ME-HA!"

As Goku shouted the last syllable, he brought his hands in front of him and opened them, palms facing Cell, and a beam of blue energy shot from them. Cell knocked the blast aside to fly off into space, but the energy attack had been a feint, as Goku appeared behind and above Cell right before punching him in the back. Cell cried out in pain and spun around to punch Goku in the face, knocking him through the air. Cell immediately followed up with a strike using both fists clasped together to send Goku down towards the ground.

Goku managed to recover on the way down and landed hard with one foot and one knee, the force of the impact cracking the tiles he landed on. Cell quickly descended and made a much more gentle landing, across the ring. Goku calmly stood up as his opponent watched.

"Alright, I suppose that was a good enough warmup." Cell stated

"Yeah." Goku agreed with a smile

"That was just a warmup!" Madison said in shock, for once, just as astonished as Mr. Satan and his fanclub

"Now!"

Goku crossed his arms in front of his face and was suddenly surrounded by a golden aura while loose bits of gravel flew around him. Goku grunted with effort as his aura grew brighter. A steady storm of gravel surrounded him and red energy crackled through the air like lightning bolts. Goku raised his arms to the sky and shouted even louder. At that moment, Sakura's eyes snapped open and her left hand darted for one of her pockets. A card popped out of the pocket, almost of its own volition, as her hand reached it and she threw it up in the air.

"SHIELD!" Sakura shouted as she struck the card with the top of her staff

The star in the top of Sakura's staff spun rapidly and energy poured from the card before it vanished. A semi-transparent dome immediately appeared over Sakura, Madison, and Keroberos. The 'front' of the dome, facing the ring, seemed to have a transparent image of Sakura's wing symbol on it. The dome solidified just in time, as at the very moment it did, red energy exploded from around Goku, bringing with it an intense shockwave carrying a dust cloud. Thanks to the protection of the Shield card, Sakura, Madison, and Keroberos only felt a strong gust of wind, just enough to make Madison's skirt flap and make Sakura's cape blow horizontal behind her. Mr. Satan and his fan club had no such protection and were sent flying through the air by the shockwave.

"Such power." Keroberos whispered as the smoke cleared to reveal Goku's body shining with golden light "The Shield card can produce an area of dead calm in the middle of a hurricane. To force wind through the shield..."

Cell spread his wings slightly and raised his arms just before starting to yell.

"Keep Shield going!" Madison advised "It looks like Cell's copying the other guy! And if the same thing happens..."

"I'm on top of it, Madison." Sakura responded, holding her staff tightly with both hands.

Blue energy exploded from Cell's body, producing a shockwave and dust cloud much like that Goku had just caused. Once again, Mr. Satan and his fan club were literally blown away, though Goku's entourage were able to hold their ground. As the smoke cleared, Cell's body was shining with violet light while his aura was golden.

After a moment, Goku casually walked towards Cell and stopped right in front of him, both warriors staring into each others' eyes.

"Your move." Cell said

"Of course." Goku responded and immediately attacked

Goku sent Cell flying with three unanswered blows, then appeared behind him and sent him in the opposite direction with a fourth, causing him to bounce off the ring surface before coming to a stop upside down in midair. Cell laughed.

"Good work, Goku!" Cell said as he slowly rotated back to right side up. "At last, a worthy opponent! This is the competition I've been waiting for. Since our powers are almost equal it should make for a most interesting contest, don't you think?"

"Yeah. Count on it." Goku got back into a fighting stance as Cell righted himself and wiped a thin trickle of violet blood from the corner of his mouth."

"Is Cell just playing head games, or is he really talking like this guy can beat him?" Madison wondered out loud

"He's got a chance." Sakura answered as the protective dome disappeared and the Shield card appeared in her hand "Maybe I won't have to fight, after all."

Goku and Cell charged each other once more and exchanged a flurry of punches. The exchange was finished by Goku when he knocked Cell's leg out from under him. Cell started to fall but vanished before Goku's next punch could reach his face. Cell reappeared behind Goku with his back to him, and then spun to punch Goku, only to strike air. Both combatants disappeared and blurred over the ring, reappearing in the air above the ring, upside down, and exchanging punches as though they were right side up. They both landed on their feet on opposite sides of the ring and sprung towards each other, their bodies flickering in and out of visibility as they did. Cell blocked a high kick with his forearm, then punched Goku in the belly before taking a kick to the side of the head. Fists and knees struck each other before Cell kicked Goku in the face, sending him flying backwards.

Goku tucked and rolled through the air before landing on his feet before once again launching himself at Cell. Goku's attempt at a flying kick missed, but Cell's did not. Cell's kick hit Goku in the face, but a moment later, Goku's fist found Cell's face, sending him skidding across the ring, though the evil creature stood up as soon as he came to a stop near the edge of the ring. Cell stood with his back to a battle-ready Goku, and laughed.

"I've got a surprise for you." Cell announced as he turned around and crossed his arms in front of his face "MULTIFORM!" Cell shouted and three ghost images of himself appeared and solidified "How do you like these odds?"

"Wow!" Madison said in wonder as she continued filming "It's like the Twin card times two."

"You had this planned, right Cell?" Goku said calmly

All four Cells chuckled in response and then went into motion. They flew rapidly around the stationary Goku before coming to a stop at the four corners of the ring.

"No way. This trick won't work on me." Goku stated

"We'll see about that!" One of the Cell's responded and all four of him charged Goku.

A furious four-on-one battle immediately commenced between Goku and the four Cells. The battle went back and forth across the ring, but Goku seemed to be holding his own. After the furious exchange was over, Goku was again standing proud in the center of the ring and the four Cells were each at a corner. All four Cell's chuckled

"Well done," one of the Cell's commended "I see that your fighting skills keep improving."

"Well thanks," Goku responded "I try."

"Oh, but this match isn't over yet." Each Cell put two fingers to its forehead "You have no idea what I have in store for you next. SPECIAL BEAM CANNON!"

The Cells' raised fingers glowed with yellow light, then each extended its arm so that the fingers pointed directly at Goku and a powerful beam of energy fired from the hand of each Cell, for a total of four. Goku avoided the beams by flying upward just before they hit and the four beams cancelled each other out. All four Cells followed Goku into the air and it didn't take long for him to knock all four out of the sky. The first Cell hit the ring hard, closely followed by a second landing on top of him, the third Cell landed on top of him, and the fourth Cell landed on top of the third one. Suddenly, three of the Cell's faded out, leaving only the original Cell lying face down on the surface of the ring, unmoving.

"He did it! He beat Cell!" Madison cheered

"Not yet he hasn't." Keroberos said grimly

"Cell's still close to full power." Sakura noted

Suddenly, Cell jumped to his feet and extended his hand, palm up.

"KIENZAN DISCS!" Cell shouted as a red disc of energy appeared and flew at Goku.

The golden-haired warrior dodged aside and the energy disc flew past him, giving Mr. Satan a slight haircut before continuing on away from the ring and exploding against a hillside. Cell threw another disc at Goku and he started dodging it. Cell's energy disc chased Goku all around the ring as he flew fast to keep ahead of it.

"Ha! Nice try Goku," Cell taunted as he saw Goku's plan "The cell from Frieza that's inside me tells me you are trying to draw that disk back this way. No chance."

Cell threw another energy disc at Goku as the golden-haired warrior flew directly at him, the first disc in pursuit. Madison's breath caught in her throat as she saw the new disc slice clean through Goku, but relaxed a moment later as it became obvious that it had only been an illusion.

"It went right through him!" Cell snarled as he turned around to face Goku "This time I'll finish you off for good!" Both energy discs sliced through Goku, but again, the sliced afterimage faded out

"There's no way you can beat me with your stolen fighting techniques!" Goku declared as he stood in the ring "Now give up!"

"No, not yet. It's over when I say it's over." Cell's aura flared and he extended his arms in front of him, forearms pressed against each other, palms facing Goku "KAAAAA-MEEEEE-" Cell shifted position, cupping his hands by his right side and Sakura could feel Cell concentrating his power

"NO! You can't put that much power into the Kamehameha! It's too dangerous!"

"HAAAAA-" A bright ball of blue energy formed in Cell's hands "MEEEEEE-" the ball of light became blindingly bright "HAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Cell quickly thrust his hands forward to the first position and a bright beam of blue energy fired from his hands, straight at Goku. Sensing the power of the blast, Sakura's eyes snapped open and she again struck a card with her staff, transforming it into colored energy.

"SHIELD!" Sakura shouted and the transparent dome of the Shield card once again covered her, Madison, and Keroberos.

Goku flew upwards and the beam turned to chase him, quickly obscuring him from normal view. With her eyes closed, Sakura was able to keep him in sight, viewing him through her mind's eye. Just as the blast caught up to Goku, his lifeforce winked out. For a few moments, Sakura feared the worst, but then, suddenly, Goku's lifeforce reappeared in the ring, right next to Cell. Goku immediately kicked Cell in the face, knocking the evil creature a short way through the air. Cell did a handspring and landed on his feet, facing Goku. As another lull began, Sakura again allowed the Shield card's power to fade and replaced the card in her pocket.

"But how! That blast was too close for you to have possibly escaped!" Cell declared

"I guess, it was luck." Goku responded

"Of course, you're very lucky. But how did you disappear and reappear again?"

"A new technique: The Instant Transmission."

"Instant, huh? Sounds like a useful little maneuver."

"Yeah, it is. You know, that blast would have completely destroyed the Earth if I hadn't flown up and diverted it."

"Yeah, maybe so. But I knew you would do something heroic to save it."

"Oh, I see. So you were counting on me."

"Well don't get the wrong idea. I don't care one bit about this planet or its filthy people, but without it, there'd be no one to KILL!"

Cell blurred into invisibility and got in several unanswered attacks on Goku. While the golden-haired warrior was looking around for his speedy foe, Madison was whispering to her best friend.

"Sak- Cardcaptor. The way they've been talking. Like they're old enemies." Madison noted

"I know." Sakura said in a preoccupied tone, tracking Cell with her magical senses "They know each other's moves."

Suddenly, Cell appeared behind Goku with his arms crossed.

"Am I too fast for you, Goku?" Cell asked with a smirk on his face

Then the fight resumed, both fighters moving too fast for most of those present to follow, becoming little more than streaks to the ordinary eye, causing Madison a bit of frustration. Cell and Goku were briefly seen as the villain unloaded a series of punches into Goku's face. Goku ducked a punch and kicked Cell skyward, flying after him. The fight continued high in the air, both warriors exchanging blows, moving very fast, only visible to three watchers: Sakura, Kero, and a certain golden-haired boy.

While the fight continued in the sky above the ring, Mr. Satan claimed to see Goku and Cell hiding in the broken part of the ring, but he was soon disproven by the thunderclaps that were the shockwaves from the aerial battle.

Goku and Cell soon crashed to the ring surface and the rapid battle continued, ranging all across the expanse of tile and above it. Goku narrowly avoided falling off the ring and leapt skyward, flying high in the air before Cell appeared above him.

"HEY! GET AWAY FROM THE RING! NOW!" Goku shouted a warning to those below, after a few seconds of conversation between himself and Cell

Sakura felt Cell gathering power for an attack and knew immediately what she had to do. Her eyes snapped open as she pulled a card from her pocket and threw it up in the air.

"FLY!" Sakura shouted and struck it with the head of her staff. The star in the top of her staff spun rapidly as energy poured from the card just prior to it disappearing and white wings sprouted from her back.

Sakura threaded her arms under Madison's armpits and her hands met over her friend's chest while she hugged her close. Before Madison could even cry out in surprise, Sakura had pushed off from the ground and her wings were flapping over and over to get altitude and put distance between them and the ring. At the same time, Keroberos used his own wings to fly up and away, as well. They did this just in time because, mere seconds later, Cell's ki blast exploded, completely annihilating the ring and leaving a large crater where it once stood.

Sakura, Madison and Keroberos looked around to see they were not alone in the sky as they floated high in the air. Goku's entire entourage, including Piccolo, were flying as well. By unspoken agreement, they were all flying over to a nearby ridge and landing on top of it. Piccolo made eye contact with Sakura and nodded his head towards the ridge, signaling that he wanted her to go over to it, as well.

Sakura hesitated as she felt for the lifeforces of Mr. Satan and his fan club, fearing the worst. She was pleasantly surprised to sense them directly below her. Looking down, Sakura saw that they had been rescued by the red-haired giant, who still seemed to have no discernable lifeforce. Relieved that they were alright, Sakura and Keroberos, with Madison in tow, flew to the top of the nearby ridge and landed. Sakura's wings disappeared a few seconds after she released Madison to stand on her own two feet. Piccolo and the young boy had already landed on the topmost ledge when Sakura and her friends touched down on it. The rest of Goku's entourage were just below them on the next ledge down.

"Whoa! Cell blew the ring up!" The short bald man exclaimed as the dust cleared

"Madison, Kero, are you both OK?" Sakura asked her friends

"I'm A-OK, thanks to you." Madison smiled at her friend "See, you were able to protect me, after all."

"I am alright, as well." Keroberos added "Goku's warning gave us plenty of time to get out of the way of the blast."

"Waitasec. I just realized where I've heard the name Goku before: In some old martial-arts magazines Meilin liked to read during free period, back when she first came to Readington. He was like this martial-arts prodigy. He was only thirteen or so when he got second place in the 21st Tenkaichi Budokai, back before they had a junior division. Three years later, he got second place again in the 22nd Budokai, and three years after that, he won the 23rd Budokai in a fight that totaled the stadium! He had black hair back then, though. I wonder if he dyed it black for the tournaments or if he dyed it blonde for today."

As Madison talked, Cell and Goku touched down on the desert floor below. The acoustics were such that those on the ridge could hear what was being said by the two combatants as they stood across from each other.

"How do you like that, Goku?" Cell asked "It's quite an improvement, don't you think? Now the whole desert is our ring. Let's say the last one standing wins the game."

"I see. So it's a fight to the finish." Goku responded

"Would you have it any other way?"

"No, I guess not." Goku answered as he stretched a bit

"Right, that's enough talk, Goku. Now it's time to continue the game."

Suddenly, with little warning, Cell started firing a continuous volley of ki blasts, prompting Goku to fly quickly across the desert to avoid them as the blasts threw up a trail of dust in his wake. He soon turned and flew into the flurry of deadly energy, deftly dodging the blasts and firing ki blasts of his own back at Cell. The two opposing volleys of ki blasts met and produced a powerful explosion, though the observers on the ridge were far enough away to only feel a strong wind and a good deal of blowing dust, prompting some to shield their faces, though others, including Sakura and Keroberos, were too focused on the fight for much of a reaction.

As the smoke cleared, Goku and Cell were down on the desert floor and were exchanging blows. Their hands locked together and they began pushing against each other. Their auras flared into visibility and the ground started to shake.

"They're even." declared the violet-haired young man on the ledge below "Not only are they equal in speed but now they're equal in power as well."

The ground neath Goku and Cell's feet gave way as pieces of rock broke free of the ground to fall upwards, the clashing powers wreaking havoc with the laws of gravity. The warrior and the monster traded fast and furious blows as the battle continued to escalate. Somewhere along the way, the battle went airborne and Goku sent Cell falling to the ground below with a punch to the face. Goku descended to the surface and skimmed towards Cell along the ground but Cell smashed up out of the ground and fired a volley of ki blasts at the approaching hero. The blasts seemed to hit, but Goku flew up out of the explosion and hovered high in the air, visible as nothing more than a spot of bright golden light.

"Look, Goku! He's way up there!" the short bald man smiled "Hey, what's he doing?"

"KAAAAMEEEE-" Goku's voice echoed over the landscape

"Everyone, get down, take cover, get moving!" Piccolo warned frantically "Goku's releasing the Kamehameha!"

"SHIELD!" Sakura shouted as she once again activated the Shield card, the familiar dome appearing over Sakura, Madison, and Keroberos.

"Aw, just relax guys. Goku's crazy, but he's not that crazy." the bald man, Madison finally recalled his name from Meilin's magazines as being Krillin, declared "There's nothing to worry about."

"HAAAAAMEEEEEE-" Goku continued his chant

"No! Don't do it! Please dad don't!" the young boy cried out anxiously

Suddenly, Goku vanished from his position high in the air and reappeared right in front of Cell on the ground.

"NOOOOOOOOOO!" Cell shouted as Goku extended his hands toward him

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Goku shouted and unleashed a mighty beam against Cell at point blank range

The world was filled with white light from the blast for a few moments and then it faded. One of the few things visible through the light had been pieces flying from Cell's body as the beam slammed into him As the smoke cleared, everyone could see that Cell's body, or what was left of it, was lying on the ground, head and arms completely gone.

"Did you see that?" The man with several scars on his face asked "Goku blasted Cell into pieces! Nobody could survive the Kamehameha Wave at that close range!"

"You're right, Yamcha. That little maneuver may have just won Goku the tournament!" agreed the three-eyed man, whose name Madison recalled as being Tienshinhan

"Yeah! He's won!"

"He did it!" Madison cheered as Sakura dismissed the Shield card, dissolving the protective dome

"Yeah! Goku did it alright! That Instant Transmission technique really did the trick! Hey everybody! Goku won the tournament!" Yamcha laughed but suddenly stopped as he realized no one else was celebrating "C'mon guys! This is good news! We don't have to worry about Cell anymore!"

"It's not over. Cell's not dead." Sakura said softly, her eyes shut tightly

"What do ya mean he's not dead!" Madison blinked in shock "Goku blew his head off! Does this kind of demon have its brain in its stomach, or something!"

"Cell's not a demon, he's an android." Piccolo quietly corrected

"Huh?" Sakura, Madison, and Keroberos were confused by this statement but didn't have time to inquire further as Krillin picked that moment to yell out to Goku

"GET AWAY FROM HIM GOKU!" Krillin warned "CELL IS GONNA REGENERATE HIMSELF!"

"Oh no." Keroberos muttered as he realized what was about to happen

Suddenly, Cell's headless and armless body did a kip-up to get back on its feet. The seared area marking where the missing parts of Cell's body had been started to bubble and a new head and two new arms sprouted, mere moments passing before Cell looked as good as new.

"Oh my god..." Madison said in shock as she watched Cell regenerate in high detail, via her camera's zoom lens "I think I might be sick."

"It just won't die!" Piccolo growled

Through her mind's eye, Sakura could sense that Goku's power had greatly dimmed and Cell's darkness wasn't quite as intense as before. The last exchange had taken a lot out of both of them, but it felt like Goku's power had diminished more.

Goku and Cell flared their auras into visibility and then Goku charged Cell. The android sidestepped the charge and punched Goku in the face, but Goku came right back with a boot to Cell's face. Both fighters unleashed a rapid flurry of punches and kicks, but Goku seemed to be taking the worst of it. Despite their diminished power, their attacks still packed so much force that the punches and kicks that missed caused rock outcroppings yards away to shatter. The battle took to the air once again as Cell went airborne with Goku in pursuit. Cell fired a ki blast at Goku, who vanished before the blast hit. Goku reappeared behind Cell and punched him but when he tried to follow up, Cell vanished. Cell reappeared a short distance away and Goku tried to hit him again, only for Cell to vanish again. After several more attempts, Cell appeared behind Goku and hit him in the back with both fists. As Goku fell, Cell tried to hit him with a flying kick but the golden-haired warrior disappeared.

Each fighter disappeared and reappeared multiple times, trying to get the edge on their opponent as they vanished into the distance. From afar came a flash of light and a clap of thunder and both warriors zoomed back towards the observers, Goku apparently having been knocked in the direction of his travel with Cell following close behind. They quickly resumed exchanging blows in midair.

"Goku was counting on that last attack to finish Cell off!" Piccolo observed "I don't know how much longer he'll be able to keep this up."

After both fighters scored simultaneous punches on each other, the fighting paused for a moment, then Goku charged Cell, only to get a knee in the gut. Cell held Goku by his collar for a moment then punched him in the face, sending him flying into a rockface. Rocks fell down to bury Goku, but as Cell flew forward, the rubble exploded outward to reveal the relatively unharmed form of Goku. The flying debris caused Cell to come to a halt in midair, and then Goku started firing a continuous stream of ki blasts at Cell, most of which hit and produced explosions which quickly enveloped the android in a dust cloud.

"He's got it! Goku's going to win!" The violet-haired young man declared

"He's used up too much of his power." Sakura said in a detached tone "More than Cell has. He can't win."

"Then start psyching yourself up, Cardcaptor." Madison suggested "Cuz you're still our best hope. Demon or android, you'll take Cell down."

"Hmmph." Vegeta snorted at the thought that a slip of a girl with such a low ki could succeed where a Super Saiyan was apparently failing *Even as tired as Cell is getting from his battle with Kakarot, that girl still would stand no chance against him.* Vegeta thought *I, on the other hand, should be able to deal Cell a mortal blow once this battle is finished. The only downside is that if Cell kills Kakarot, I won't get to kill him, myself.*

"You don't know what you're talking about!" Krillin yelled up to Sakura "Goku will win! He always wins, no matter how strong the opponent!"

"Whatever." Madison responded casually as Goku continued firing massive amounts of Ki blasts at Cell, now completely obscured within a dust cloud high above the desert floor

"My Dad will win!" declared the golden-haired boy who was wearing a copy of Piccolo's outfit, minus the turban "You'll see."

"Well, kids always have total faith in their Dads. What's your name, anyway, kid?"

"I'm Gohan, and this isn't just blind faith. Dad always saves the day. Every time things have looked dark, Dad has come through."

Sakura didn't have the heart to tell Gohan what her magical senses told her was inside the dust cloud. The ki blasts were hitting Cell's shield and having only minimal effect. Suddenly, Cell let out a primal yell and a purple sphere of energy expanded outward from him, while Goku's ki blasts impacted on the surface. The sphere touched the ground and kept expanding, throwing up huge amounts of rock which shattered apart as it rose. Sakura's eyes snapped open as she sensed a compression wave of air caused by the sphere's rapid expansion and realized what it would do to an unprotected person, not to mention what could happen if the energy sphere didn't stop expanding before it reached them.

"SHIELD!" Sakura shouted, once again calling upon the powers of the Shield card to protect herself and her friends.

Cell's energy sphere stopped expanding just after crashing against the side of the cliff that Sakura, Madison, Keroberos, and the Z-Fighters were standing on, almost as though the mass of rock was enough to stop Cell's energy from expanding further. When the sphere stopped expanding, it was mere inches away from the faces of several of the observers, and sparks of energy arced between the sphere and the protective barrier generated by the Shield card. On the desert floor below, Mr. Satan, who had failed to hide behind sufficient cover, was blown backwards by the intense gust of wind created by the compression wave and crashed face-first into a large rock, leaving a deep impression in it.

Sakura's knuckles were white as she gripped her staff. As Goku hovered, his image in the young magician's mind was much dimmer than it was when the fight began. Goku was running on empty. There was no way he could defeat Cell now, which meant that the job would soon fall to Sakura. Sakura was nervous, she still wasn't sure if she could defeat Cell on her own, but she had a bit of hope in the fact that Cell was tired, as well.

Goku touched down on the ground and Cell dispelled his energy sphere while hovering above the crater the sphere had created.

"Are you feeling tired, Goku?" Cell asked his opponent, loud enough to be heard by all "You've lost a lot of strength. Why don't you take a breather. Perhaps one of those senzu beans would help you?"

"Hey, this is our chance!" the lavender-haired man declared "If Goku eats a senzu bean, he can get his strength back and take Cell down!"

"That's right!" Yamcha agreed "Cell said he could!"

"Senzu bean?" Madison blinked in confusion, not knowing about the magical beans which instantly heal and restore to full strength anyone who eats one.

"C'mon, Krillin." the lavender-haired man turned to his bald friend

"We will wait!" Piccolo ordered in a clear voice. For about half a minute, there was silence, then Trunks spoke again

"We'll wait for what? He needs a senzu bean!"

"Quiet boy!" Vegeta yelled "Where is your honor? Like all pure-blooded Saiyans, Kakarot would rather die fighting than win with one of those disgraceful senzu beans as his crutch. Kakarot trained in the Room of Spirit and Time, just as we did. Now let's see what he can do."

"No! We can't! Goku doesn't have the strength! Don't you see what will happen if he keeps going like this?"

"If this goes on, then he will die." Everyone had a shocked expression on their faces after Vegeta's statement "But, that will be his decision. It is painfully clear at this point that noone among this group is stronger than Kakarot is. Not even myself. So he deserves to have the fight of a true warrior. And that

means to the death!"

"While we all just stand here and watch? I won't be part of it!"

"Aren't you the one who has never stopped talking about how great a hero Kakarot is? If you have so much faith in him, then wait and see what he will do."

Cell said something to Goku that was too low for Sakura or Madison to hear, ending with a laugh.

"You're right about one thing Cell:" Goku answered loud enough to be heard by all "The world does want to see a real champion." Goku's aura suddenly went out as he powered down "It's over Cell, you win. I give up. I know how strong you are. There's no point in continuing this fight, I can't beat you."

Goku's friends couldn't believe their ears at his admission. Each had something to say about it.

"You coward!" Vegeta snarled

"No! Goku!" Krillin yelled

"No! Don't do it!" Trunks cried out

"What? No way, Goku never gives up!" Tienshinhan was in shock

"What! Goku's turning his back on us?" Yamcha couldn't believe his friend had surrendered

"No... Don't give up." Gohan said softly

"No! You can't let Cell win, Goku!" Piccolo shouted

Madison's reaction was quite different

"Looks like you're on deck, Cardcaptor." Madison stated as she put her hand on her friend's shoulder in a show of support "Get ready to kick some ass."

"You win Cell, I give up." Goku repeated "You know, I wasn't sure when I came here today that I'd have what it takes to beat you. I know now that I don't. Fighting you has shown me that there's still a lot I have to work towards. We may be enemies, but today you've given me a valuable opportunity to learn more about myself, and for that, I thank you."

"It takes a big man to admit his limitations in the face of an overwhelming enemy." Keroberos commented while Trunks and Yamcha said some less complementary things about Goku

"It's pointless for us to continue this fight."

"Surely you're joking!" Cell snarled "You can't just say 'I give up' and expect to walk away!"

"Sure I can! You beat me fair and square! I give up!"

"Well Goku, I hope you fully appreciate the consequences of your actions. You may quit if you wish, but if there's no one left to fight me I'm going to reduce this entire planet to RUBBLE!"

"Not so fast Cell! I may be giving up, but that doesn't mean the tournament's over. There's still one more person for you to fight."

"You're not serious. Who? One of them? And exactly which one of these pitiful specimens did you have in mind, Goku? Who? Trunks, Vegeta, Piccolo, or maybe that overconfident little girl? Please, don't waste my time."

As he stood on the ledge below where Cell floated, Vegeta snarled at the android's out of hand dismissal of him, not to mention being lumped into the same category as Piccolo and the puny girl who, for some reason, seemed to think her weak power was a match for that of Cell.

"So, you don't mind if I pick who gets to fight next, do you?" Goku asked

"You actually intend to go through with this?" Cell asked

"I know it sounds crazy, but you'll understand, soon enough. The person I'm about to name is a lot stronger than I am. So, if you enjoyed the challenge of fighting me, Cell, you're gonna like this next one even better. Of course, you probably won't feel that way about it after they've beaten you."

"What's that?"

"I said, you probably won't feel that way about it after they beat you."

"A bold statement, you certainly seem to have a lot of confidence in this mystery fighter of yours. Well, I hope for your sake that your confidence has not been misplaced. Now, where is this great invisible champion of yours!"

"Get set, Sakura." Madison whispered into her friend's ear "Obviously he sensed your power and figured out that you've got everything it'll take to finish the job he started."

Is Goku about to pick Sakura the Cardcaptor to fight Cell, or does he actually have someone else in mind? Find out in the next chapter of Clow and Ki!

End of chapter 3

I know, I know. It's been several months since I updated, and I'm sorry. My only excuse is that I lost my muse for a while, and was also very busy(or maybe that's WHY I lost my muse) Anyway, on a happier note, HAPPY NEW YEAR! I'd hoped to get this chapter done before the year changed, but I guess I was just a little too slow. Consider the size of this chapter a partial repayment of the debt. Oh, and magus, I'm afraid there will be no pairing in this fic.

Anyway, the next chapter will reveal Goku's choice to fight Cell next. Sure, some would say it's a forgone conclusion, but with the changes we've seen so far, can we be sure? I'll try to get chapter 4 out a bit faster, but, as always, I can make no guarantees.


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